It's that time of year again when the streets and pubs are alive with freshers ! So great to see them. If you’re new to the student scene, the Ori week may have treated you harshly. Tanking up with alcohol can make you feel like the dregs of the glass, especially if you’re a newbie to the culture.
But take heart, we’ve all been there.
It’s a drug
Hardened old timers to the scene will have gradually increased the enzymes in their liver that act to break down alcohol. So while you may feel off the planet on one jug/wine/or RDT its because your liver has yet to ramp up the levels of enzymes, so the alcohol builds up quicker and to a higher level in your blood with a comparatively small amount of booze. Its fluid
Beer is lower in alcohol content than other drinks;(beer about 5% ABV or alcohol by volume, white wine about 13% and RTD’s or Ready-to-drink, about 6%) but it contains a lot of fluid, mostly water. If you drink 3 to 4 jugs too quickly, the volume is too much for the stomach, and it comes OUT and at a much greater speed. Which is not only embarrassing and messy, but a waste of good dosh.
It makes you pee more
Alcohol is a “diuretic “ which means you have to pee a lot more, and that pounding headache in the morning may be caused by dehydration. Sip water the night before (if you remember) or the next morning and lots of it.
It’s calories
An RTD is about 170 calories, which is 4 Mcdonalds chicken nuggets, a chocolate chip cookie or a small bottle of full-sugar coke . A Speights beer is 106 calories (BUT 330mls!) and a glass of white wine 130 calories, the same as a pack of crisps.
It affects memory
Sometimes its good not to remember the night before ! If you can’t remember it, did it happen? But there are always those helpful flatties who are laughing too hard to get the story out. Alcohol can wipe the memory slates clean.
It lowers inhibitions
Which is just what you want when you’re a newbie in a strange city looking to make new friends. The down side is the person who you find in your bed the next morning may look a little different from how your alcohol fogged brain saw them the night before, if you can remember.
It depletes vitamins
Particularly the B vitamins which we need for stress and digesting alcohol. There are plenty of supplements to be had, the effervescent kind gives you a water boost too.
Then there’s the booze poos
Explosive diarrhoea in the morning is pretty common after a big night out. It happens when the alcohol and its vehicle move too fast through the body to be absorbed properly. Not great if your flat/hostel is economical on the loo paper. Usually gone by lunchtime.
And the Asian Flush
Some of us will get a raging headache and bright red face after just a sniff of booze. We have a variant gene for the enzyme, Aldehyde dehydrogenase, which breaks down alcohol. Very low levels of booze will be unpleasant and even toxic. The differing gene is most common in people of Asian descent: 30 to 50 % of us of Japanese and Chinese origins will be in this group. If your flattie seems pissed after a sniff of booze, they may not be unsociable but poisoned!
Welcome to Dunedin, enjoy your student days, and look after each other!